Amritsar – Sifti Da Ghar May 16, 2008
Posted by simarprit in City, Food, Golden Temple, Review.Tags: Amarsar, Amritsar, City Review, Golden Temple, Simarprit, Sri Harmandir Sahib
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Yesterday was a good day for me, a visit to Sri Harmandir Sahib – http://www.goldentempleimages.com always does good to me, it recharges me. As it was Sangrand, beginning of the month, even at 3:00 pm there were lots of us for our own individual reasons.
Amritsar Airport was recently renovated you can smell it, but wait, there’s another smell and more visible changes happening. The new terminal is being demolished. A heritage oriented structure is being changed over to a swanky Iron & Glass House. They could have retained this and made another, it would have been best. Why bring it down, and so quickly?
Ambarsar, as the locals call it, is known for Sri Harmandir Sahib. It is also known for being a foodies delight. Kundan, Kaiser, Gyan, Kanhiya, Bansal, Lubhaya are all legends. Papar and warian, a whole bazaar exists and they would gladly make you eat the raw Papar to understand how the cooked would taste. I try my level best to go to Gyan on my every visit, located at Chok Regent Cinema, Gyan to me is the finest Barfi you can have in the world, and why his lassi tastes the way it does remains a tasty mistry.
Amritsar is the city most visited by me and I am seeing the city change, the change is of course making the city yet another city of India, Amritsar is loosing its distinct character. None of the folklore lush green fields welcome you the minute you step out of the airport, it is the concrete, either done up or under construction.
The wikipedia link offers lots of information on Amritsar, but the soul of the city is missing, the information is more like 10 pages read one page written: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amritsar
So here is an attempt to define/ explain the statement which is as old as Sikhism:
Q: What is the meaning of Amritsar – Sifti Da Ghar?
A: To understand it fully we must reword the sentence – Amrutsar – Sifti Da Ghar, Amrut + Sar, (as per local fokelore first hand from generational chain) Amrut (Amrit) is used here to mean Pure, Pious, Water, Nectar and Medicinal and Sar means – Sarovar or a Pond or a Pool. A rough cut meaning of Amritsar is a “The pool of pure, clean, pious and medicinal water”. Sifti as per them stands for Adorable, Appreciation and Praise. Da of course means “is” here, and Ghar means home which is an abode. So Amritsar – Sifti Da Ghar means – ” The adorable abode of the Pool with pure, pious and medicinal water”.
The city of Amritsar (also referred as ASR) gets its name from the Amrut Sarovar. The Amrut Sarovar’s digging on a lot of land which had a pond with medicinal values was initiated by the Fourth Guru Ram Das. The generational chain referred to earlier also substantiates that Guru Ram das initiated the same as per wishes of the third Guru, Guru Amar Das Ji. The sarovar per se is now popularly referred to as Ram Das Sarovar. Some devotees also refer to Amritsar as Amarsar, substituting Amrit for Amar, first name of the Third Guru.
If anyone disagrees with the above interpretation, I pray with my folded hands for a submission of your revered view, and may Wahe Guru “Bhulaan Chukaan Muaf Karnian” (Forgive me for my forgetfulness and mistakes).
More to come…
Tandoori Oven – North Indian Food Restaurant, San Jose, Quick Review January 19, 2008
Posted by simarprit in Food, Review.Tags: Bay Area, Downtown, North Indian Food, Punjabi, restaurant, Review, San Jose, Simarprit, Tandoori Oven
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What is in a name? To me Tandoori Oven as a name of an Indian restaurant in California sounds very Californian. It’s Hybrid and people just like that. (Tandoor means oven, tandoori connotes food cooked in an oven)
So here we go:
Where: The Tandoori Oven
150 South First Street, San Jose (1) 408 392 7222
Format: Fast Food/ Counter Order Table Service 6/10
Location: Downtown San Jose - 9/10
Parking: Abundant around the area – 9/10
Menu: They got the India Map wrong…. For them the region of Punjab is on the banks of River Ganges. May God bless them, if you really care to know look at http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/india/india-political-map.htm
Menu Rating 0/10 for getting the region wrong and 6/10 for the menu choices and options.
Ambiance - Could be better, some Punjabi Music could have helped. 7/10,
Chicken Tikka Masala – 8/10 This is one dish which is so non Punjabi but finds itself on every menu. My friend (Mother Indian/ Father White American) really liked it, he just polished it off 8/10
Samosas – They came with Safed Channa (I prefer to call them Safed Channa and not Chitey Cholley bcause the were made in tipical (non Punjabi) UP style, though the beans were of-course closest to chitey cholley – garbanzo), portion was small, Samosas could have been slightly bigger as they are not exactly finger food, and they taste better when they are stuffed more and crust is slightly more crunchy. But they were OK. Rating 7/10
Chicken Biriyani – Portion was unending, it tasted good, good enough for my Bengali colleague who was here for the second time in one month. Rating 8/10
Karai Shrimp – I make it better, far better. The gravy was not for Shrimps. Conventional Punjabi food has nothing to do with Shrimps though but we all love our Punjabi Prawn/ Shrimp curries. Tomatto was less, Masalas were just about OK. There was no Khada Masala, as in most of the Kadai dishes, it was strangly similar to Chicken Tikka Masala Gravy. Shrimps & Gravy were talking two absolutely different languages. It tasted fine though. I rate it 4/10, if it was called Shrimp Curry, I would have rated it 7/10
Plain Naan – You just can’t make them any better 10/10
Basmati Rice – The rice was cooked well, but quality was not the finest. It was more of Basmati Tukda (Pieces). 7/10
Raita: Hopeless – They just don’t know how to make it. Curd was bad, the so called homemade yogurt didn’t look like one. Masala’s were dis-proportioned. It could be a good Dip, but Raita – no way. 0/10
Allo Matter(Vegetable of the day) - Just OK. 5/10
Cucumber Salad – Just OK 5/10 – I thought it would be salaad, the Punjabi version of Salad, which it was not.
Why Go? Only Indian Joint in downtown San Jose. Better than Amber, few miles away. Reasonably OK food. Not too bad prices.
Why not go? You can call it North Indian, but as they position it as Punjabi, you would be disappointed though. Food of Rajjot is far better than Tandoori Oven but Rajjot’s ambiance is zero, Amber’s food is horrible when compared to Tandoori Oven but ambiance is far better.
My 2 cents: Go grab, it looks like the best package deal in bay area for north Indian food.
Bacchus – French Restaurant Brooklyn New York – A Review January 14, 2008
Posted by simarprit in Food, Review.Tags: Atlantic Avenue, Bacchus, Brooklyn, Food, French Restaurant, New York, Review
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Being a foodie is a good thing, but now I know something better: going and declaring it. Since I started telling friends “I love good food” invites for great places have neve stopped.
Today morning my friends with their daughter took my out for a Brunch at Bacchus,
Bacchus – 409 Atlantic Avenue (718) 852 1572, New York – A French Dinning Room
Location: Good Rating -9/10
Parking: It’s New York 2/10
Ambiance: As French as Possible in New York 8/10
What all we ordered:
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Crepe Spinach & Goat Cheese – I have never had any better Crepes, and proably one can never have still 9/10
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Omelette Cheese & Spinach – A Decent portion came with hash browns, was well done in olive oil had a distinct taste 7/10
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Bread (Complimentary) White Fresh French Bread, thick crust with olive oil 8/10
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Green Salad with Goat Cheese – Fairly regular stuff 5/10
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French Fries – They were real French Fries, not what we get at Mc Donald’s and is also called French Fries. 8/10.
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Tea – They have a good Tea Collection. I had Green Tea with Lemon and it was nice – 8/10. Service of tea was not so good as the Pot & the Mugs were not warm enough, even if it is mild New York January is January
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Coffee beans were most likely Columbia – 8/10
Why go? Real French Food. Good Service. Reasonable.
Why not go? I don’t have reason, except parking. But if you are a New Yorker, you don’t drive anyway.
Dasaprakash Santa Clara, Restaurant, (South) Indian Review December 25, 2007
Posted by simarprit in Food, Review.Tags: Dasaprakash, Dosa, Idli, Review, Santa Clara, Simarprit, South Indian Food, Vada
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Background: A dear friend & colleague’s brother, his wife & their little daughter took me out for a Dinner on a working day. I had to fly next day morning, they were kind enough to offer me a great Dinner at tremendous personal time adjustment. Thank you brother.
Where: 2636 Homestead Rd. Santa Clara, CA 95051
Fax: 408-246-8293 Ph: 408-46-8292
Hospitality of my Host: 10/10
Hospitality of the Restaurant Host: The owner cum manager is a genuine guy, affectionate, practical, unassuming. Someone who can be trusted for suggestion and would not offer it on basis of how good it is for him, but would recmmendto your taste. Rating 8/10
Service: We were on a weekday, so service was fine, but if this is this is the total staff he has then Service can be issue on weekends and other holidays. Rating 8/10 (Remember it is a weekday) if not augmented on a holiday/weekend it can be 4/10 or even 3/10.
Menu: Regular Popular South Indian stuff, no “Speciality South Indian Dishes”, No “Speciality Chettinad”, No Aapams or even Aaplams or any other region food, staple South Indian Food, no less no more. Menu 6/10
Food: Whatever we ordered was Very Good, Presentation was excellent, Garnishing was good and Chutneys wre also good. However they couldn’t get me gun-powder. Food 9/10
Ambiance: About 80 covers, good interiors, not as good as Amber though, but food is far more tasty and authentic. Heating was good and so was basic flavor of the place: Ambiance: 9/10
What we ordered:
Rava Masala Dosa: 8/10
Masala Dosa: 9/10
Plain Dosa: 8/10
South Indian Thali: 9/10
Vada Sambar 8/10
Idli Sambar: 9/10
Portions: Were decent 9/10
Simar’s 2 cents: Highly Recommended for a weekday dinning, Sunday can’t comment on service level.
Overall: The restaurant scores 8/10
Why Go? Good Standard South Indian Food, Good Ambiance, Good Quality, Courteous Management
Why think twice? Service time can be an issue.
BTW: Some items were taken by my trusted foodie friend independent of me and the marks are his.
Wok in the clouds – Chinese Restaurant, New Delhi – India November 20, 2007
Posted by simarprit in Food, Review.Tags: Chinese Restaurant, Food, India, New Delhi, Review, Simarprit, Wok In the Clouds
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Date: November 18, 2007
Time: 9:00 PM
Location: Rajouri Garden, New Delhi, India – Rating 7/10
Parking: Ample & Valet – 10/10
Budget: US $ 30 for three without drinks
Cuisine: Chinese and North Indian
Covers: 200 plus Banquet section for 100
Decor: Fusion – Rating 6/10
Menu selection: Regular and nothing special
Sitting: Separate section for Family’s and stags
What ordered?
- Fresh Lime Soda – Rating 9/10
- Veg Dimsums – Portion: Generous - Food rating 7/10
- Chilly Mushrooms – Portion: Generous – Food Rating 5/10
- Lemon Coriander Soup – Portion: Generous – Food Rating 8/10
- Veg Hakka Noodles – Portion: More than generous – Food Rating 6/10
- Mix Vegetable in Hot Garlic Sauce – Portion: More than generous – Food Rating 5/10
Why Go? Location, Parking, Budget, Great Portions
Why Avoid? Yet another, Loud Music, Gets too noisy, Food is no great shakes.
